Bodies of 7 sailors found in flooded US Navy ship after collision in Japan

USS Fitzgerald collided with a merchant vessel more than three times its size some 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, Japan.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald, damaged by colliding with a Philippine-flagged merchant vessel, is towed into the US naval base in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, Japan.(Reuters Photo)

The bodies of a number of sailors who were missing after the US Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with a container ship were found in flooded compartments of the damaged ship, the US Seventh Fleet said in a statement on Sunday.

Japanese media said all seven of the sailors who had been reported missing were found dead.

The Seventh Fleet statement said the sailors were being transferred to a US naval hospital where they would be identified.

“The families are being notified and being provided the support they need during this difficult time,” it said.

The Fitzgerald, an Aegis guided missile destroyer, collided with the Philippine-flagged merchant vessel more than three times its size some 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka early on Saturday.

Three people were medically evacuated to the US Naval Hospital in Yokosuka after the collision, including the ship’s commanding officer, Commander Bryce Benson, who was reported to be in stable condition, the Navy said.